Daniele Baiesi affirms allegiance to Trinchieri, reflects on future of domestic leagues / News - Basketnews.com

Bayern Munich sports director Daniele Baiesi referred to his experience working in Germany, the process through which his club got a EuroLeague license, and how EuroLeague squads will treat domestic competitions in the near future.

Credit: imago images/Eibner-Scanpix Credit imago images/Eibner-Scanpix

FC Bayern Munich sports director Daniele Baiesi spoke to 'Il Corriere di Bologna' about his impressions from working in Germany, how the Bavarian side has managed to consolidate itself in the EuroLeague on a long-term license, and some changes likely to take place in European basketball.

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Daniele Baiesi, 47, grew up in Bologna. After training to become a commercial manager by completing a degree at the University of Bologna, as well as working in the media, he began working for former Italian first division team and EuroCup participants Pallacanestro Biella in Piedmont; initially as team manager and head scout from 2005 to 2007, before a final two years as general manager and sports director.

From 2009 to December 2014, Baiesi was the Chief of International Scouting at NBA club, The Detroit Pistons, before he became sports director at Bamberg. He took over as sporting director in the summer of 2017.

"Working abroad spoils you, gets you used to situations that in Italy are social achievements while here they are taken for granted," he told the Italian outlet.

"I am homesick for the language but when I read the sharp words that FIP President [Gianni] Petrucci launches toward my coach (Andrea Trinchieri) I remove all doubt that I am in the right place for me," he continued.

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"I have found respect abroad that I have never received in Italy. In Italy, there is a perception that those who work abroad are exiles, but I chose to work where I was given a serious proposal and given every kind of tool to do my job in the best possible way."

Baiesi addressed the future of club competitions in Europe, where a balance between leagues is still to be found.

"I've been thinking this for almost 20 years, since the days that I was working as a reporter," he confessed.

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"There will come a time when teams of a certain level will have to join national leagues from the playoffs onward, as is already happening in Serbia.

I understand that small clubs could use the revenue from games with the big ones, but you cannot go into obscurantism, which is the opposite of progress. We have our heads in 2023 but our feet anchored in 1980," he argued.

Asked about Bayern Munich's path to reaching a multi-year license in EuroLeague, Baiesi stressed that the path opened through the team's achievements on the court. In this vein, winning the BBL in 2017 was pivotal.

"We got our spot because of our performances on the court," he said.

"After that, we kept the position by equipping ourselves with a corporate structure that hired me full-time in the position of the sports director, which didn't exist in this club.

Then, we acted in other areas within a structure with over 70 employees selling 18 million euros in sponsorships. We have a brand and a market that the EuroLeague cares about," Baiesi pointed out.

"We are the Bayern of Neuer, Lewandowski, and before that, of Rumenigge, Kahn and Hoeness. We are all standing on their shoulders."

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